The Undertow: Session Eighteen

Mikansia: the main character, a female elf played by Lena. Last session Mikansia had taken back Jabez's sword, now partially a thing of Dream, from the creature from Dream. She just found out that the High King of Kotae Mah had been the one to send her friend Jabez to Elfharrow, a former home of the dark elves, to be tortured and broken, from a dying General Santeri, Jabez's father. General Santeri died in Mikansia's arms. And then Zaina showed up.

Jabez: It is getting harder and harder to write about Jabez. Yeesh. Jabez was a fellow sword-singer of Mikansia, who had given his ancestral sword as passage fare for Mikansia to get to the surface. Mikansia had recovered it later by swapping out her sword for his. Later on, Jabez defended Mikansia with his sword, only to fall in battle to Krakeru, Mikansia's evil father. Mikansia had cut down Krakeru with Jabez's sword and kept it, at the behest of the now-dead Santeri, Jabez's father.

Krakeru: Mikansia's evil and twice-dead father. He had been raised with Makirta by the Lone Keep, an organization of dark elves who worshipped the Nameless. The brother and sister were raised in the worst of conditions and forced into incest from an early age. Krakeru, upon meeting Mikansia for the first time, raped her, and then tried to brainwash her with the Music of the Nameless. When he was unsuccessful, Krakeru tried to break both Mikansia and Jabez, but failed. Mikansia killed him after he had killed Jabez. And then he died again, after being resurrected by an eldritch egg, which can bend reality. Krakeru called Mikansia "Mikki" all the time.

Akseli: Mikansia's former captain in the Sword Singers. Best friends with Yngvar, Akseli had left his post to help Mikansia with her search of the truth concerning Jabez's death. He's been working with Mikansia as security for a group called The Sword Runners, who help to spread elven arms and armor to the humans on the surface.

Yngvar: Akseli's best friend, a brother for all intents and purposes, and Mikansia's former firstsword in the Sword Singers. He had been tehre when Akseli's heart had been broken by Makirta, Mikansia's mother, and as well as when Akseli's mind had been almost completely wiped from an encounter from the eldritch horrors The Nameless. Yngvar had helped Akseli regain himself over the course of ten years. So to say that Yngvar was distrustful of Mikansia when he found out she was Makirta's daughter was a bit of an understatement. But Mikansia won him over with her bravery, her honor, compassion, and selflessness. Yngvar volunteered to go back to Kotae Mah and be Mikansia and Akseli's spy.

Zaina: a former member of the Sword Singers unit that Mikansia was also a part of. She was Jabez's one true love ("Well, if he'd known about me he would have been!"), and was enraged when he went off, gallivanting with that man-stealer Mikansia, and even more enraged when Jabez gave his ancestral sword for Mikansia! Ug! The nerve! But things were different now. Zaina could now reveal that she had been working for the dark elf king all this time, and was actually a general. She was here with six elven warships to nuke the Sword Runners back into the stone ages. Oh, how things would be different now.

Zaina looked down on Mikansia, grinning from ear to ear. She yanked Yngvar into view. Yngvar had a chain wrapped around his throat; he had more more bruises than Mikansia could count. Zaina told Mikansia she had something that belonged to her. And Zaina was going to return it.

Yngvar tumbled out the ship. Mikansia surged foward, hoping against hope to get to him before the ground got to him first. He landed on his head, which KRICKED to one side, at an absurd angle. Mikansia had only just missed him. Trembling, Mikansia cradled him a moment; his head lolled to the side, his eyes stared into ground. With a grief turned to rage, Mikansia stood up, drew her bright blade, and pointed it at Zaina, asking in a cold and focused voice: "What have you done?" Zaina was grinning so widely it could have wrapped around her head several times.

One of Zaina's ships exploded in a ball of dark fire; Fish had awoken. Three of the other ships veered off and engaged Fish and Nomi, who was atop her dragon. Mikansia held her glowing blade aloft, taunting Zaina with it. Mikansia wanted to get Zaina down, away from her command, away from bombing the compound, just get down here already was the only thing on Mikansia's mind. Zaina was puzzled: why was Mikansia trying to show her this glowing sword? Mikansia asked if Zaina really didn't know "her one true love's" blade? She needed to come down and see it for herself! Zaina told Mikansia she'd just have to look at it after bombing Mikansia to ash. She wasn't getting anywhere near Mikansia, not when she had so many traitors to turn to dust.

Akseli's scream of anguish could be heard. A bowstring twanged; the soldier next to Zaina fell off the ship, dead. Akseli was by Dale's airship, releasing arrows like the storm releases hail, cursing at Zaina at the top of his lungs. Zaina took cover behind the prow of the ship. Mikansia thought for a second about trying to get into the airship, to finally put Jabez's sword through Zaina. But her friends, who were currently prepping Dale's ship, would need get bombed out of the air. What chance did they have without her? Growling in frustration, Mikansia made a break for Dale's ship, which was next to a cliff face. Zaina began to fly closer, trying to maintain cover from the incoming arrow-storm. Mikansia got next to the cliffside and plunged Jabez's sword into it, trying to open a portal into Dream, like how she'd seen the creature try. Ensio had told her that  the thing that made elves unique was their grief. The creature from Dream had said that the sword had an enormous amount of grief in it, and that it should have waited for Mikansia to put her grief  int it too. So she focused on something that created that grief, that hope, that light.

She was back with Jabez, trying to talk him into remembering his better self, seeing that light come back into his eyes, the steel come back into his spine. He was hearing her, but they were probably going to die, and she could barely think straight, but in that moment...

She pushed that moment into the sword. A portal began to open around the sword, in the cliffside.

Jabez was looking through.

Mikansia's breath caught in her throat.

"Hurry it up! Move it!" shouted Jabez.

Ensio, Decima, and Ember, who were carrying Dale, hurried with Simone through the portal, with Akseli still providing cover against Zaina's ship. Nomi and Fish were still fighting with the three ships. Mikansia yelled that they needed to hurry up and get through the portal! Nomi laughed and flew straight right at Zaina's ship, telling Mikansia she could outrace the ships, easily, so it was Mikansia who needed to get out of there!

Jabez grabbed Mikansia by the hand as she came through the portal. She looked over her shoulder: Zaina was glaring at them, even as she had to hold off Fish and Nomi.

They didn't stop running until they were all in a dark wood. And then Jabez was hugging Mikansia in a vice grip. They shook; Jabez and Mikansia were beaming. After a minute Mikansia asked how this was possible. Dream was the land that connected to all others, including the land of the dead, Jabez explained. So it really was Jabez.

Yngvar knocked over Mikansia with a flying hug of a tackle. He apologized, over and over, for failing to do anything to stop the attack. Mikansia said, through her tears, that if anyone needed to apologize it was her, for failing to break his fall. Akseli, who had already reunited once with Yngvar, came back in for another hug from his brother.

Gigantic flying ants had come to mend the hole in Dream. Jabez said that Mikansia could not just make another hole in Dream with the sword. Pausing for a second, he told Mikansia that the sword really suited her. But she needed to be careful! Those flying ants did not take kindly to repeat offenders of breaking Dream.

And that's when Ember broke in, to ask if they could help Dale, who was still in a very bad spot. Jabez said that either he or Yngvar could put a part of themselves into the interior wounds of Dale to "patch" him. Given they were spirits this really didn't hurt anything for them, although Dale would pick up a few memories and a couple of random skills from whomever did it. Yngvar volunteered. He knelt next to Dale and touched his head.

Dale began to glow. He opened his eyes and said. "I know sword fighting."

Exactly like this

Yngvar and everyone else laughed. Dale stood up, still glowing. He felt amazing! Ember burst into tears. Simone was excited: Daddy was up and moving! They could play!

Jabez and Yngvar said it was time to go and find a way out of Dream for them. Mikansia and Jabez stared at each other a moment. There was so much to talk about! But time moved differently for Jabez than for Mikansia: for him it would tomorrow when they saw each other next. Mikansia nodded: tomorrow then! Yngvar crushed Mikansia in a hug. He'd grown to be so proud of Mikansia and was so glad she'd turned him around about her.

It is at this point where I must advise that the reader return to the twenty-first session of Sabina's Castle

They all began to walk, looking for a way out. They happened upon a castle, with a wall that suddenly turned to rope. A lone elf woman climbed down the wall, and went to the castle, crossing the moat.

A portal opened up next to them. A woman with raven hair in a red dress strode out. Ensio and Decima was exited: it was Marian! Mikansia was astounded: this was the Marian who had sent them Fish and Nomi? Marian was confused; she'd only just started to really understand the dragon, and Nomi was still a dark elven mess on a pile of slag back in Argentum Prime. She told the group she came from the year 1345; they responded with the year 1346. And then told her about their situation. Marian asked if they really wanted Nomi and the dragon, still not quite getting it. Mikansia told Marian they'd be incredibly helpful and were the reason why the had escape to begin with. Marian promised she'd send the two as soon as she could. Mikansia asked if Marian could get them out of Dream and to teach them how to close portals to it, since Jabez's sword couldn't close portals. Marian agreed, but said it would take about a year. This was provided they didn't try to change anything in their pasts. Mikansia sadly agreed to the terms; changing the past would change them in ways they couldn't anticipate. What had happened, happened. Jabez and Yngvar agreed.

Akseli disagreed, violently. He refused  to leave without Yngvar, nevermind going back into the past and not stop his friend's death! Akseli had lost too much, he couldn't just turn away and not stop Yngvar from dying. Mikansia and Yngvar tried to comfort him, but Akseli would have none of this nonsense! How dare they force him to lose one more friend, nevermind his brother Yngvar! He'd already lost Makirta, had lost major parts of himself to the Nameless, no, this was where the line was drawn. He tried to stride off into Dream, promising to find another way out; a dark and malevolent aura began to gather around him as he stormed off. Mikansia refused to let lose Akseli to this this, she wouldn't just leave him here! Mikansia, Ensio, and Dale pulled him out of Dream, through Marian's portal, kicking and screaming. Akseli vowed this was not over, not until Yngvar lived again! Mikansia held him as he screamed and kicked, trying to give him a space where he could let loose.

Mikansia heard a familiar laugh: "Ah, thanks Mikki! I got what I wanted"

As the portal closed Mikansia locked eyes with Jabez. "Here's to tomorrow" they said to each other.

They were standing in Argentum Prime, in 1345.